WWRL Hosts Blog

This is what Climate Change looks like

by Thom Hartmannposted Jul 2 2012 4:18PM

Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power around the nation’s capital – and left to deal with a record breaking heat wave alone. Fueled by all-time temperature highs on Friday, a massive freak storm ripped across the Mid-Atlantic Friday night – killing at least 15 people and knocking out power to more than three million. West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, and Washington, DC have all declared states of emergency.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the nation – a wildfire continues to scorch Colorado – where tens of thousands of people have been evacuated out of harm’s way and more than 350 homes destroyed. On the heels of this freak weather is a new report from climate scientists around the world warning that when it comes to rising sea levels, the tipping point has already been passed.

Scientists with U.S. research group Climate Central warned that even with drastic cuts in CO2 emissions, rising sea levels cannot be stopped over the next few hundred years – threatening roughly a tenth of the world’s population that lives in low-lying areas. So here we have massive wildfires, catastrophic storms, and rising oceans – welcome to the new normal – brought to us by transnational oil barons and the politicians they own.